Mid-August Lunch
Metascore
75 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
view
per page
  1. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    75
    From its first minutes, Mid-August Lunch establishes a special tone and quality that could only be Italian. It's a mixture of warmth and gentle farce, tender observation and absurdity.
  2. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    90
    A slender Chekhovian vignette about the joys and regrets of old age and the pleasures of sociability.
  3. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    80
    The whole thing is as satisfying as a meal at a slow food restaurant, and when Gianni's mother gratefully tells her son, "you mellow these hours," we wholeheartedly agree.
  4. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Wesley Morris
    88
    The movie is a perfect blend of calm execution and uninflected farce.
  5. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    75
    A pleasant taste of Roman life.
  6. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Liam Lacey
    75
    Everything about Mid-August Lunch is simple and unpretentious, from the black-out scene transitions to the folk-dance score, as the four isolated, elderly women, over a couple of days and meals, become a circle of companions.
  7. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Keith Phipps
    75
    It’s a trifle, but a trifle that sticks.
  8. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Michael O'Sullivan
    50
    It's tasty enough, and probably good for you, but at 73 minutes, the film is hardly a very filling entree.
  9. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Kimberley Jones
    67
    These women are marvelous, with ancient, creased faces and the kind of admirable f...-all attitude that comes with age. I couldn't take my eyes off them.
  10. Empire
    Reviewed by: David Parkinson
    80
    The semi-improvised performances and gently nostalgic tone makes this endearing and captivating.
  11. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Natasha Senjanovic
    90
    A gem whose intelligent, gentle, deadpan humor is entirely irresistible.
  12. Arizona Republic
    Reviewed by: Richard Nilsen
    80
    The film is a slice of life, and although nothing earthshaking happens, at only 75 minutes long, it never quite tries your patience either.
  13. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: Kevin B. Lee
    80
    Thankfully, the actor-director prepares this potential recipe for hokeyness with all-natural ingredients, casting four of the feistiest biddies he could find, who are all the more endearing for being unadorned.
  14. Boxoffice Magazine
    Reviewed by: Cathleen Roundtree
    80
    It may be difficult for the youth-obsessed American culture to appreciate the quiet joys rendered in this Italian charmer. But, given the increasing dominion of the Baby-Boomer Generation--hungry for life-affirming images of old age--Mid-August Lunch could prove a sleeper-in-the-making.
  15. Variety
    Reviewed by: Jay Weissberg
    80
    A surefire pleaser for crowds of a certain age.
  16. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    60
    Watching this lauded but fatally slight comedy of manners about a middle-aged Italian who finds himself caring for four spunky old dames, it's hard to believe writer, director, and star Gianni Di Gregorio also co-wrote the bloody mafia hit "Gomorrah."

User Reviews

All reviews »

There are no user reviews yet.